Curtis Dahlgren
A 60-second seminar on anger
By Curtis Dahlgren
"Anger is better than laughter." — Ecclesiastes 7:3
IF VINCE LOMBARDI were coaching in this day and age, he would probably be ordered to attend "anger management" classes. People today are taught to blend in rather than to stand out, and any expression of passion is considered not Psychologically Cool. Those people who don't "blend in" and who complain about attacks on their cultural roots are considered "not well-adjusted" and Lombardi wouldn't adjust well at all to the concept of "parity" or "outcome-based football" or "all competition is evil."
I used the term get "mad" in my last column without apology, even though a former President was lecturing California citizens that "whom the gods wish to destroy they first make angry." I don't know who writes his stuff, but he echoes the sentiments of academia and the news media. The 1994 elections were called a temper tantrum by "angry white males." And no doubt this week's prayer rallies in Washington DC will be portrayed as more temper tantrums by those same pesky rednecks.
WELL (as the Gipper might say) — that's weird, because I can remember the sixties when the SDS was rioting and university buildings were being blown up by fertilizer bombs, and the news media never called them "angry white males" — they were called "idealists."
Maybe being "well-adjusted" in a world as wacky as this one is neither a logical nor a desirable goal. The other day, I was reading the King James version of Ecclesiates when I made a new discovery: The KJV says, "Sorrow is better than laughter" (Ec. 7:3), but the inspired Hebrew word for sorrow is the same one translated "anger" in verse 9 ("Be not hasty to be angry")!
This will raise eyebrows in the psychological community, and I wish I could say I've known this for years, but the hard fact is that the English words for "sorrow" and "anger" overlap because originally they meant the very same thing. Matter of fact, the Greek, Latin, French, and Old Norse words for "anger" and "anguish" also came from the same root words that literally mean "strangled" or "constricted" (our English "angina" comes from the same root words).
In other words, as the "Dictionary of Word Origins" by John Ayto says, the original notion of "anger" was "afflicted," and "rage" didn't enter the picture until the 13th century. The bottom line is that those who "sigh and cry" over the secularization of society are afflicted by a sense of "indignation" that is justified. There is more "sorrow" than "anger" in the passion of a conservative, and more anger than sorrow in a liberal's passion.
In conclusion though, I want to preach a bit to the "choir": During this week's prayer rallies in Washington, you might take note of the fact that for practicing Jews and some Christian groups, Monday October 6th is the Day of Atonement. It is a day of solemn fasting that contains elements of Job's "anger, sorrow, and fasting" over his dead children.
The proverbial "Rachel weeping for her children" is a role-model for all Americans today, and so — for many reasons — I hope that many non-Jews will also fast this year on the Day of Atonement. You can do it as a form of mourning our lost unborn babies, and as a form of prevailing upon the God of Israel for His mercy in spite of our attacks on the Ten Commandments and our Judeo-Christian heritage.
I know a few "conservatives" flinch upon hearing the "Judeo" part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, but what can I say? That's exactly what our American heritage IS. The time has come to show how SERIOUS we are about "renewing America." It's time to get "mad"!
© Curtis Dahlgren
"Anger is better than laughter." — Ecclesiastes 7:3
IF VINCE LOMBARDI were coaching in this day and age, he would probably be ordered to attend "anger management" classes. People today are taught to blend in rather than to stand out, and any expression of passion is considered not Psychologically Cool. Those people who don't "blend in" and who complain about attacks on their cultural roots are considered "not well-adjusted" and Lombardi wouldn't adjust well at all to the concept of "parity" or "outcome-based football" or "all competition is evil."
I used the term get "mad" in my last column without apology, even though a former President was lecturing California citizens that "whom the gods wish to destroy they first make angry." I don't know who writes his stuff, but he echoes the sentiments of academia and the news media. The 1994 elections were called a temper tantrum by "angry white males." And no doubt this week's prayer rallies in Washington DC will be portrayed as more temper tantrums by those same pesky rednecks.
WELL (as the Gipper might say) — that's weird, because I can remember the sixties when the SDS was rioting and university buildings were being blown up by fertilizer bombs, and the news media never called them "angry white males" — they were called "idealists."
Maybe being "well-adjusted" in a world as wacky as this one is neither a logical nor a desirable goal. The other day, I was reading the King James version of Ecclesiates when I made a new discovery: The KJV says, "Sorrow is better than laughter" (Ec. 7:3), but the inspired Hebrew word for sorrow is the same one translated "anger" in verse 9 ("Be not hasty to be angry")!
This will raise eyebrows in the psychological community, and I wish I could say I've known this for years, but the hard fact is that the English words for "sorrow" and "anger" overlap because originally they meant the very same thing. Matter of fact, the Greek, Latin, French, and Old Norse words for "anger" and "anguish" also came from the same root words that literally mean "strangled" or "constricted" (our English "angina" comes from the same root words).
In other words, as the "Dictionary of Word Origins" by John Ayto says, the original notion of "anger" was "afflicted," and "rage" didn't enter the picture until the 13th century. The bottom line is that those who "sigh and cry" over the secularization of society are afflicted by a sense of "indignation" that is justified. There is more "sorrow" than "anger" in the passion of a conservative, and more anger than sorrow in a liberal's passion.
In conclusion though, I want to preach a bit to the "choir": During this week's prayer rallies in Washington, you might take note of the fact that for practicing Jews and some Christian groups, Monday October 6th is the Day of Atonement. It is a day of solemn fasting that contains elements of Job's "anger, sorrow, and fasting" over his dead children.
The proverbial "Rachel weeping for her children" is a role-model for all Americans today, and so — for many reasons — I hope that many non-Jews will also fast this year on the Day of Atonement. You can do it as a form of mourning our lost unborn babies, and as a form of prevailing upon the God of Israel for His mercy in spite of our attacks on the Ten Commandments and our Judeo-Christian heritage.
I know a few "conservatives" flinch upon hearing the "Judeo" part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, but what can I say? That's exactly what our American heritage IS. The time has come to show how SERIOUS we are about "renewing America." It's time to get "mad"!
© Curtis Dahlgren
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